Budget Committee Balks At Polis’ Plan To Give Paid Family Leave To State Employees
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Colorado’s bipartisan Joint Budget Committee has already put the brakes on one of the things Gov. Jared Polis wanted in his State of the State address. The group unanimously voted against his plan to give state workers eight weeks of paid family leave.
Adding that benefit would cost $7.3 million out of the state’s general budget fund.
“Primarily
there’s a disagreement between the executive and legislature about
whether they have the statutory authority to grant this new benefit,”
said Democratic Sen. Dominick Moreno, the vice chair of the powerful joint budget committee.
One
senior staffer for the governor called it a curious decision and was
“saddened by the message it sends to state workers.” A spokesman for the
governor said Thursday’s decision was unfortunate.
“Although
the governor is disappointed that the JBC has now twice denied this
administration’s commonsense approach to support our state employees, we
are hopeful that they will reconsider the importance of our state
employees and provide this important benefit,” said Conor Cahill.
Despite
the committee’s vote, the final budget is far from being approved. All
of the other legislators have yet to weigh in. That debate will likely
happen in March.
“I firmly believe that state employees, and
every single Coloradan, should have access to a paid family leave
program so that no one has to choose between taking time off to care for
a loved one and keeping their job,” said Democratic Rep. Daneya Esgar,
the chair of the JBC. “We had to make a difficult decision due to the
lack of existing authorizing statute and our desire to focus on creating
a statewide program that benefits everyone. I'm hopeful that we will
make meaningful progress this session towards this important goal."
But
Democrats who hold the majority at the capitol don’t agree on the best
way to create a paid leave program. Polis does not support a state run
model, and instead would like the private sector to implement it. The
governor’s comments put him at odds with a plan some Democratic lawmakers have pushed for years and were hoping to finally make a reality this session.
Meanwhile
Republicans and members of the business community have questions about
what a paid leave program would cost businesses and employees.
The issue has also come up for state legislators after Democratic Sen. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood gave birth to a baby boy last week. Colorado has no explicit provisions in place for a lawmaker
who wants to take parental leave during the legislative session. A
lawmaker does get nearly six weeks of paid time off, after that it’s up
to the discretion of legislative leaders. Pettersen wants to extend
guaranteed parental paid leave to three months during the legislative
session.
Adding that benefit would cost $7.3 million out of the state’s general budget fund.
“Primarily
there’s a disagreement between the executive and legislature about
whether they have the statutory authority to grant this new benefit,”
said Democratic Sen. Dominick Moreno, the vice chair of the powerful joint budget committee.
One
senior staffer for the governor called it a curious decision and was
“saddened by the message it sends to state workers.” A spokesman for the
governor said Thursday’s decision was unfortunate.
“Although
the governor is disappointed that the JBC has now twice denied this
administration’s commonsense approach to support our state employees, we
are hopeful that they will reconsider the importance of our state
employees and provide this important benefit,” said Conor Cahill.
Despite
the committee’s vote, the final budget is far from being approved. All
of the other legislators have yet to weigh in. That debate will likely
happen in March.
“I firmly believe that state employees, and
every single Coloradan, should have access to a paid family leave
program so that no one has to choose between taking time off to care for
a loved one and keeping their job,” said Democratic Rep. Daneya Esgar,
the chair of the JBC. “We had to make a difficult decision due to the
lack of existing authorizing statute and our desire to focus on creating
a statewide program that benefits everyone. I'm hopeful that we will
make meaningful progress this session towards this important goal."
But
Democrats who hold the majority at the capitol don’t agree on the best
way to create a paid leave program. Polis does not support a state run
model, and instead would like the private sector to implement it. The
governor’s comments put him at odds with a plan some Democratic lawmakers have pushed for years and were hoping to finally make a reality this session.
Meanwhile
Republicans and members of the business community have questions about
what a paid leave program would cost businesses and employees.
The issue has also come up for state legislators after Democratic Sen. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood gave birth to a baby boy last week. Colorado has no explicit provisions in place for a lawmaker
who wants to take parental leave during the legislative session. A
lawmaker does get nearly six weeks of paid time off, after that it’s up
to the discretion of legislative leaders. Pettersen wants to extend
guaranteed parental paid leave to three months during the legislative
session.
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